darden, thanks to both of you. that's it for "the lead." i now turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." thanks for watching. thanks, jake. the 911 call that's at the center of george zimmerman's defense. >> do you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> all right, what is your -- >> trayvon martin's father testifies about the screams on that 911 call and whether or not they belonged to his son. did the victim's father help the defense's case? also, zimmerman's friends take to the stand. they're identifying what they believe is the 911 screamer and show a more personal and emotional side to the defendant. >> and after the terrifying crash at san francisco airport, we're going to show you how nearly all the passengers survived and how you could make it out of an air disaster alive.

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> george zimmerman's lawyers relied on an unlikely witness to help them make their case today, that would be the father of trayvon martin. tracy martin was called to testify about his initial reaction to a 911 call made that night and whether he could identify the person heard screaming for help in the background. two detectives took the stand before him to describe what happened when they played that 911 call for tracy martin and then questioned him. >> and what did you ask him? >> i believe my words were "is that your son's voice in the background"? i think i said it a little differently than that but i inquired as if that was in fact his son yelling for help. >> and what was his response?

>> he um -- it was more of a verbal and nonverbal. he looked away and under his breath, as i interpreted it, said no. >> did he ever ask that the tape be played for him again that time? >> i don't believe so. >> did he ever evidence to you any concern with being able to hear the tape? >> no, sir. >> and do you recall what it was that you heard officer serino ask mr. martin after playing the 911 call? >> if he recognized the voice. >> and do you have the exact words? >> i don't know if those were exact words, but that was the question, if he had recognized the voice. >> and mr. martin's response? >> that it was not his son. >> a short while later trayvon martin's father, tracy martin, was in the witness box disputing what those detectives had to say. >> at the end of that tape do

you recall officer serino asking you whether or not you can identify your son's voice. >> not those exact words but something to that nature. >> do you recall the words he use used? >> as best as i recall after he played the tape he just said do you recognize the voice? >> and what was your response? >> my response was i didn't tell him i didn't know -- i didn't tell him, no, that wasn't trayvon. i think the chairs had wheels on them and i kind of pushed away from the table and just kind of shook my head and said i can't tell. >> so your words were "i can't tell"? >> something to that effect. but i never said that, no, that wasn't my son's voice. >> the question was who is screaming on that 911 call is of course key to this trial and to

zimmerman's claim of self-defense. let's bring in our panel to assess what happened today. martin savidge is covering the trial for us. he's in sanford florida, together with cnn legal analyst together with former federal prosecutor sunny hostin and martin is joining us from miami. martin, this is all very dramatic and at least the sense was that the defense managed to counter some of the impressions left the other day when trayvon martin's mother and brother testified. they insisted that that voice screaming on that 911 call was the voice of trayvon martin. >> well, again, this was another really remarkable moment, wolf, inside of that courtroom. think about it. you have tracy martin, the father, who is called to the witness stand and questioned by the attorney who is defending the man who killed tracy

martin's son. that's of course trayvon martin. so that unto itself sets up the drama. but then you have the issue of a father that is now, as you just pointed out, there were two detectives that took the stand and said unequivocally that they heard tracy martin when they asked him whose voice that was calling 911, that was your son, they heard him say no. but then you heard the father come on and very strongly say they were wrong. he actually said he could not tell. so that was a very powerful moment and i think, quite frankly, for the defense that could have back fired because naturally there is a lot of sympathy that many people in that courtroom are going to feel to see the father placed in that kind of predicament. >> on the other hand, sunny, you can't blame the defense for bringing those detectives forward and testifying what they thought he said once he heard that 911 call. >> right. and i think that makes a lot of

sense. i think that's good strategy by the defense to call both officer serino and officer singleton. what did not make sense in my view, wolf, is calling the victim's father. and this defense has made a lot of bolden and risky moves. we know that they decided to cross-examination sybrina fulton and that is usually ill advised. you don't cross-examine the victim's mother the way they did. now you have them actually calling the victim's father. i was in the courtroom for it. i will tell you i think it fell flat. there was shock in the courtroom when the defense called trayvon martin's father. and what was also interesting was you couldn't hear a pin drop. other people have testified, even when fulton testified, people started moving and in the courtroom, the jurors were -- are usually moving around. not this time. i mean, his pain was palpable. i think it came across in his testimony and i think it really back fired for this defense.

again, bold, risky, which seems to be the type of style these defense attorneys have but it's also sort of gorilla tactics litigation, no holds barred. and it just doesn't usually work well. and i can tell you that the jury seemed to be really riveted by tracy martin's testimony. >> let's bring in jose baez, well known to a lot of our viewers, he represented casey anthony. >> you did represent the lead investigator in this case, chris serino, who testified once again today. briefly what was your role? >> well, i represented the lead investigator throughout the course of the proceedings up until trial. so both sides knew what was going to come out today. this was no surprise. i just think the way the prosecution played this whole voice testimony, i think they played it wrong. i don't think they should have

called sybrina fulton on early in the case, i think they should have brought her in the rebuttal case and brought her as the final witness in the trial. by showing their hand early, they've allowed the defense to call witness after witness after witness to rebut her and they're not going to end on a high note. >> did the defense do the right thing by calling trayvon martin's father in to testify today? >> i think they had no choice. the prosecution should have called him to basically steal the defense's shunned ethunder. but this is a key witness early on in the investigation before it got politically hijacked, this was a witness who clearly said, no, it's not my son. and i think that's a powerful witness for the defense. can you not call him. there's no way that they couldn't have called him. >> let's me ask sunny to weigh in on that. did the prosecution make a mistake by not preempting, in

effect, the defense by calling trayvon martin's father in to testify on behalf of the state? >> no, not at all. and i love jose. jose and i are friends off camera and he knows that but he's dead wrong on this one. i mean, the prosecution called sybrina fulton, trayvon's mother and also called his brother, really eloquent, elegant young man, put him right on the witness stand, in my view almost putting trayvon martin up on the witness stand. so that worked very, very well. the government always knew that this was an issue with tracy martin, that initially he said either no or i can't tell if it's my voice. so let the -- you know, let the chips fall where they fall. i don't think it was a mistake for them not to call him. rather i think it was a much bigger mistake for the defense to call tracy martin. they didn't have to call him. all at the knethey needed to do

serino and singleton. but they didn't need to call his father. it fell flat. >> should they play hide the ball? they should have exposed it and let the jury know he could not tell whose voice it was. >> hold on for a moment. there's new information coming in, a new ruling from the judge about trayvon martin's marijuana use. we just heard from the judge. stand by. we're going to bring it to you. also, george zimmerman's friends, they weigh in on that 911 call and they identify the p person screaming and we'll talk about whether one witness may have had more impact than the others. s are moving fast. i'll take that malibu. yeah excuse me, the equinox in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first, it's mine. i called about that one, it's mine. mine. it's mine. it's mine. mine! mine. mine. mine. mine. it's mine! no it's not, it's mine! better get going, it's chevy's independence day celebration.

[ male announcer ] the chevy independence day celebration. now, current chevy truck owners can trade up to this 2013 chevy silverado all-star edition with a total value of $9,000. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know some owls aren't that wise? don't forget i'm having brunch with meghan tomorrow. who? meghan, my coworker. who? seriously? you've met her like three times. who? (sighs) geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know.

potentially very significant ruling in the trayvon martin/george zimmerman case, the judge ruling only moments ago that the toxicology report from trayvon martin's autopsy can be released, including the evidence included there that he had used marijuana during the course of that very, very horrible day. let bring in our analyst to discuss what's going on. martin savidge is joining us once again. he's been covering this case, sunny hostin and jose baez, the criminal defense attorney in florida as well. martin, there was a lot of confusion, a lot of uncertainty whether judge nelson would allowed trayvon martin's use of marijuana that day to be admitted as evidence. now she says it can be admitted. the defense and the prosecution will go at that presumably

tomorrow. give us a little background now. what's at stake here? >> well, there's a lot of stake and there had been a great deal of hearing testimony that had been heard there was ever a jury as to what kind of evidence might be introduced regarding the background and the previous life you could say of 17-year-old trayvon martin. and the judge basically said you couldn't introduce any of that because he's the victim here and you need to stay focused on the va events of that evening. however, remember shiping bao? he said the trace amounts of marijuana found in trayvon's blood stream were insignificant. on the witness stand he said he ainge changed his mind and he

had spoken to an expert and was of the mindset that it might have had an impact. that was huge and the defense jumped all over that and demanded that evidence be brought in and the judge ruled and said, yes, the jury can now be told about this. >> why is this so important, sunny, to the defense? why do they want to bring in this toxicology report and his ruse of marijuana earlier that day? >> well, it could cut both ways. from the defense perspective, i think they'll have a toxicologist get on the witness stand and talk about the levels of marijuana in his blood and said, hey, he could have been acting than a different way than someone else not under the influence of drugs. perhaps he appeared paranoid. perhaps he felt aggressive. these are all side effects of marijuana use. but i think the prosecution, myself having tried a couple of drug cases, you know, can swing it another way.

you can get another toxicologist, another expert to say, well, there wasn't that much in mihis blood stream and top of it, people smoking marijuana are feeling kind of groovy, they're having the munchies, they want skittles and iced tea. but what won't be said is what do people think about a kid that's smoking pot? maybe this is a kid that's not a choir boy here. so i think there's something for both side when is this information comes in. >> jose, let's not forget, all this testimony directed at six jurors, all of them women, five of them mothers. how do you think this will play that the judge will allow this evidence tomorrow? >> i think it's bad for the

prosecution no matter how you look at it. i appreciate sunny saying it's a good thing and it can play both ways with the bob marley affect that everybody is all groovy and happy but i'm sorry, it's a negative notch against the victim. any time the defense can do something like that, it's a score for the defense and it hurts the prosecution. right now we all think of trayvon martin or the jury thought of trayvon martin as a 17-year-old who was getting some skittles. and it turns out that he had drugs in his system. that's bad. >> and actually, martin, the prosecution didn't want this evidence to come out. they resisted it. it was the defense that wanted it to come out. now the judge says it can come out. what's your bottom line asse assessment? this is the breaking news right now, potentially significant information that trayvon martin's evidence that he used marijuana earlier that day will now be admitted.

the jurors will learn about it. >> well, i think both attorneys are right here. this brings a lot of baggage. and it isn't so much how much was in trayvon's system. it's just what do people associate a kind of lifestyle that uses marijuana and what they might think about this young man as a result. it clouds, perhaps, the perception of the victim here. >> and real quick, wolf, i just recall that george zimmerman during his nonemergency call said something's wrong with him, he looks like he's on drugs. i'm sure the defense is going to say he was on drugs. part of george zimmerman's observations were appropriate and were correct and that could help the defense. >> on the other hand, the point i think that sunny was also making and i assume the prosecution will make when this whole marijuana issue comes up tomorrow, jose, is that marijuana is one thing, it's not necessarily heroin or a different kind of drug, if you will. >> that's true.

but again, it opens up pandora's bo box. i don't know if they're going to allow the fact he was up in there sanford because he was suspended for using marijuana in the first place. how far this is going to go is going to be interesting to watch in the upcoming days. >> the prosecution -- i mean the defense has to walk a delicate line and you've been in this position, jose, so i'll ask you this first. how far do they go in trying to smear or undermine his character, trayvon martin. he was a 17-year-old kid and he's dead, after all. >> i don't think they have loads of ammunition to work with. the fact that he was smoking marijuana, you know, we all in society have come to somewhat -- accept that as a nonlethal drug so to speak. it's not like trayvon had a lengthy criminal record or he had a reputation for violence. it's just a little bit to work with. so i don't think that they're going to go too overboard because really there's not a

whole lot -- not very far for them to go. >> is there anyplace else for them to go beside the marijuana when you look at it, sunny? >> i don't think so. the judge has made it very clear that nothing else at this point is coming in and to jose's point, you mean, you've got six women on the jury, five are mothers. you mean to tell me that no one on the jury has ever smoked pot? no one on the jury has a child that smoked pot? some of these kids are in their 30s, their 20s. they have to play it really careful, the defense, with this. because you don't want to smear the victim. again, this defense in my view has taken on sort of a gorilla style, tactical strategy. anything goes. you cross-examine the victim's mom, put the victim's father on the witness stand. who knows where they're going to go with this. >> he surprised me, mark o'mara, and his defense team on certain decisions, several decisions so

far. jose, if you were representing the defense right now, would you call your client, george zimmerman, to take the witness stand? >> not in a million years. not in a million years. but i will tell you i know all of these lawyers involved and one this evening i've noticed is they're extremely confident about their case. and especially mark o'mara. the fact these granting interviews after court every day tells you there's a lot of confidence there. if mr. zimmerman gets convicted of anything, the first person he's going after is his lawyer and he's going to say he was hamming it up for the cameras instead of working on my case. i think they feel very confident and very comfortable moving forward. and so did the prosecution at the beginning of this case. i'm not sure how he feels right now, though. >> a lot of us didn't think he would cross-examine trayvon martin's mother but he did. do you think he's going to call

george zimmerman? >> i would say no but after seeing him call trayvon martin's mother and asking him if trayvon martin was responsible for his own death and now calling tracy martin, i don't know what to expect. i think it's possible now. >> rather, it's zimmerman's decision, not o'mara's. >> i'm sure that o'mara will have a huge influence on george zimmerman but, martin, go ahead. >> that was the point i was going to make. we already know that george zimmerman wants to speak out. he went on fox television. i'm sure that mark o'mara was adamantly opposed to that interview. so george i think feels the sense that he wants to tell something. and my question would be what do you do if george zimmerman says i demand, i want to get on that stand and you're mark o'mara saying you can't do that. it is essentially george's decision to make. >> what do you do, jose, where the client insists on testifying and you think it's stupid for him to do so?

>> you lock him in a room, you try to pound it out of him. if you can't, it's ultimately his decision. it becomes a one-witness trial at that point, god's greatest gift to the prosecution at that point. >> the judge deciding the evidence could be allowed that trayvon martin did smoke marijuana earlier in the day. and george zimmerman's friends weighed in on the 911 and identified him as the person screaming. rking as much as you? identity thieves. they can find your personal information and do some serious damage. like your birthday or your mother's maiden name. you need a new friend. lifelock. we scour billions of data points every day, and if we discover that any of your personal information is misused... lifelock is there.

call us at 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. [ ship horn blows ] no, no, no! stop! humans. one day we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next... not so much. but that's okay -- you're covered with great ideas like optional better car replacement from liberty mutual insurance. total your car and we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. learn about it at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights. my ambulance talks with smoke alarms and pilots and stadiums. but, of course, it's a good listener too.

[ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everything works like never before.

the judge in the george zimmerman trial is still meeting with the lawyers right now. they're going over potential pieces of evidence that may or may not be released tomorrow. they're in a brief recess, but they're going to be coming back. the jurors have all been dismissed for the day, but there is important discussions under way right now. beyond marijuana use, what else could be made as part of the evidence tomorrow. so we're going to monitor that

and update you on other important information. meantime, zimmerman's lawyers spent hours focusing in on the 911 call the night that trayvon martin was killed. the defense called five of zimmerman's friends to take the stand and asked them to identify the prn heard screaming and crying out for help. all of them testified that it was the voice of their friend george zimmerman. >> 911. >> maybe both. there's just someone screaming outside. >> and what's the address? >> in the town of sanford? >> is it a male or female? >> sounds like a male. >> you don't know why? >> i don't know why.

it sounds like they're yelling help. send someone quick. i can't see them, i don't want to go out there, i don't know what's going on. >> do you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> there's gunshot. >> you just heard gunshot? >> yes. >> how many? >> you have had a chance to listen to that tape before today? >> yeah. >> and on how many occasions? >> a few. >> okay. do you have -- do you know whose voice that is in the background screaming? >> yes, definitely it's giorgi. >> and how is it that you know that? >> i just hear -- i hear it. i hear him screaming. >> he's screaming, the noise in the background. do you have an opinion whose voice that is?

>> i thought it was george. >> tell me why you think that. >> just the tone. just the volume and the tone of what i was hearing. because i talked to him probably as much on the phone or had before this incident as i did in person. so hearing his voice over a recording is something that your tone's a little different and it just sounds a little different over a phone and it just sounded like george. >> could you hear the noise or the yelling in the background? >> yes, i could. >> could you identify whose voice was yelling in the background? >> george's. >> and how do you know that? >> i recognized his voice. i've heard him speak many times. i no doubt in in mind that's his voice. >> whose voice is it? >> george zimmerman's voice. >> and how do you know that? >> we spent a lot of -- or had occasion to get together many times. i know his voice but also when we were working on the political

campaign, we were loud and waving signs and just kind of hooping it up and so i know what his voice sounds like when he gets excited or loud. >> based upon your knowledge of your conversation with george zimmerman and the life experience that you've now brought to the jury, whose voice do you believe that to be screaming for help? >> there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that is george zimmerman. and i wish to god i did not have that ability to understand that. >> dramatic testimony. the defense witnesses took the stand before we heard directly from trayvon martin's father. don't forget that last week we heard dramatic duelling testimony from the mothers of trayvon martin and george zimmerman. each one sounding absolutely certain that the screaming voice on that 911 call belonged to her

son. let's bring back our panel, martin savidge, legal analyst sunny hostin and defense attorney jose baez. that was pretty powerful testimony, sunny, from those five friends of george zimmerman. >> yeah, and i think five is the sort of magic here. in and of themselves one by one, i think the prosecution did a great job of poking holes, right? the first two were -- they're all friends of george zimmerman. a couple of them seemed a bit quirky. on cross-examination they refused to admit certain things. so i think alone each one when you look at them you think, well, this wasn't really great for the defense. but, wolf, when you look at it cumulatively, when you look at them all together, i can't imagine that a jury is not going to back and say i may not have believed this one or that one but is the government telling me that i have to not believe five people, that five different people got up on the witness stand and lied?

i thought that was actually a very interesting tactic by the defense but i thought it was very effective. >> hold that thought for a moment, jose. martin, hold that thought. i want to go back to the courtroom now. judge debra nelson hearing the attorneys argue about another potential piece of evidence, an animation out there. i want to listen in a little. >> also as i informed mr. o'mara, it's difficult to tell based on objection j what the change in version three from version two really was based on. in other words, is it based on the idea that now we are only sticking to certain testimony whereas in deposition he testified that it was written statements, police reports, the defendant's video walk-through, location of the shell casing and

also in-court testimony, which prompted the chang from one to two? or have we now gone all the way in only using in-court testimony? i simply don't know the nature of the basis for the change. >> would it be helpful for the state to talk to mr. shoemaker when he gets here before we go into the time for the hearing and then maybe we could limit the scope of things? >> certainly. i'm happy to do that, your honor. >> i think that makes perfect sense. the question is just keeping the court here until he gets here and we do that. the only alternative would be to take this up in the morning. >> i'd rather do it now. so what we'll do is i'll be in recess until mr. schumaker gets here and at that time the defense and state will meet with mr. schumaker to see if you've resolved some of your questions and then let me know by letting the deputies know when you're ready.

>> a housekeeping matter, your honor. state's 193 was a time line of calls. right. >> and we made some handwritten changes to it. we have since reprinted it so it doesn't look like handwriting, it looks more professional. with the court's permission and i think the defense has agreed that they are identical now, we would ask to substitute the preprinted for 193, the handwritten copies? >> any objections from the defense? >> no. >> okay. if you want to take the sticker off and put a new sticker on. >> i have one that's marked redacted. >> it's not redacted. it has the same information. it's just typed differently. >> there is something different. >> all right. so they're going to allow that other animation to be admitted

as evidence. other issues that are still p d pending, the judge has not dismissed those lawyers for the day. they're waiting for an expert to come in antti and testify. the jurors have been dismissed. we're going to ten our coverage, plus watch all the other news of the day. we're also going to show you how the prosecutors tried to undermine the case by using george zimmerman's own words against him. we're cracking down on medicare fraud.

the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud.

let's make medicare stronger for all of us.

cnn legal correspondent jean casarez is joining us now. i know you've been researching the judge's decision to go ahead and allow the defense to introduce evidence tomorrow, that toxicology report of trayvon martin from the autopsy, the toxicology report showing that he did in fact smoke marijuana on the day he was shot and killed. give us the background. >> well, she's basing this on

case law in florida and there is case tulio arias, it's where the defendant said just like the victim, that guy looks like he's on drugs. this time it was cocaine in that case. the judge did not allow the toxicology report in. the defense was able to argue he making an assumption he was on drugs. the appellate court in overturning the case said the prosecution may not subvert the truth seeking function of a trial by not allowing something like that that is relevant and is a question of fact that the jury if that toxicology level made a difference. >> as several analysts have suggested, including jose baez, good news for the defense in showing that trayvon martin did in fact smoke marijuana earlier that day. jose, i want you to weigh in also, we were just talking about these five friends of george

zimmerman who testified that they are 100% certain that the voice screaming out for help on that 911 tape was the voice of george zimmerman. now, that, as i said, that's a pretty powerful piece of evidence. >> yes, it is. not only are these five witnesses powerful for the defense, let's not forget about the testimony of john good, who testified that he actually believed the person on the bottom was the one screaming for help and that person was in fact george zimmerman. so you put that together with these ear witnesses and you've pretty much made it clear that the person screaming for help at this point is george zimmerman. i for the life of me can't understand why the prosecution has tried this case in that way. the key issue here is who was the initial aggressor and bringing the juror back to the point where zimmerman's the one who left his car, followed trayvon martin and on top of that was armed with a gun, i

think that is their strongest piece of evidence, that is -- it's basically not being disputed here and they really should stick to the main issue here was who was the initial aggressor. >> sunny, you want to weigh in on that? >> yeah, i completely agree. i mean, this case i've said from the very beginning, months ago, is about who started the fight. and that's going to resonate, i think, with the jury. the jurors are women with children. when your kids fight, what is the first thing they say? he started it, she started it. that's the common sense piece of it, who started it. and there is a lot of evidence that george zimmerman got out of his car, didn't follow the dispatcher's advice and continued to follow and confront trayvon martin. and the prosecution definitely in closing argument i think will frame it that way. but that's what they need to do. they need to frame it that way because once it's established that george zimmerman is the initial aggressor, the only way self-defense applies, wolf, is

if he was in reasonable fear of death and great bodily harm and he exhausted all means to get away. so there are two prongs to be met and those hurdles are pretty high. so would i agree with jose, they've got to reframe the narrative at that point. >> jean, very quickly on this. if you read second degree murder, what has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, among other things, that the shooting in this particular case was done from ill will, hatred, spite or an evil intent. that's why we heard so much about what the motivation, what george zimmerman was up to. up until now do you think that the prosecution has convinced the jury that what he did was done from ill will, hatred, spite or an evil intent? >> you know, that's a question of fact for the jury. and as you say, it is a critical question of fact for the jury. that's the only way they can have a second degree murder

conviction. they are basing it on george zimmerman's choice, his demeanor in those 911 calls with those specific words. we've heard the call so many times over and over again in court, we hear sort of a lackadaisical voice saying it, not someone who has that ill will, hate and evil intent. >> and devastating a depraved mind without regard for human life, that's a pretty high hurdle as well to convince that beyond a reasonable doubt. >> it is because second degree murder is an intent crime, much like first degree murder. the only different is first degree is premeditated, you have to have planned it out. and second degree murder, they do have to get into george zimmerman's mind. that's why second degree murder is so difficult to show. any sort of intent crime where

you have to show the jury what is going on in someone's mind of course it's difficult. that's why the prosecution went over "the fing punks," these a-holes always get away because they need to show by his words he was thinking that of trayvon martin. the judge found already that they got there. the second degree charge is going to the jury. the only question is will the jury believe it. i suspected the jury will also get to review lesser included offenses like manslaughter. i don't know at the end of the day whether or not the prosecution doesn't prove this depraved mind, hate trel, spite, whether or not it's the end of the case for george zimmerman. >> jose, give me a thought. >> well, i think the prosecution has overtried their case. this has become a case of whose voice is this and who was on top and who was on the bottom when they really should have stuck to their strongest points.

with what little they had, they could have run with that. they did what a lot of prosecutors are always guilty of and that's overtrying their case. if they had stuck to the basics, they'd be in a lot better position right now. but now they've given the defense so much to work with and the defense is going and running with it. what this animation witness is going to do for them, i think it's going to be the last witness called, you're going to see a 3d animation of all of the testimony that's come forth, that's going to paint george zimmerman as the ultimate victim here and it's going to make it really difficult for the prosecution their rebuttal case. they better have something waiting in the wings because if not, they better have something in the water. >> first of all, we have to find out if that animation is going to be allowed. we'll hear about that, i assume, fairly soon.

we're also following several other major stories here in the situation room. we have new details about this weekend's fatal plane crash in san francisco. we're going to show you how you can make it out of even the most horrific plane crashes and make it out alive. also, we're just learning that the country music star randy travis is in critical condition. we'll tell what you we know. stand by. with express deals, you can save big and find a hotel with free breakfast without bidding. don't you just love those little cereal boxes? priceline savings without the bidding.

i missed a payment. aw, shoot. shoot! this is bad. no! we're good! this is your first time missing a payment. and you've got the it card, so we won't hike up your apr for paying late. that's great! it is great! thank you. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with late payment forgiveness. since aflac is helping with his expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick... feel it! feel it! feel it! nice work! ♪ you got it! you got it! yes! aflac's gonna help take care of his expenses. and us...we're gonna get him back in fighting shape. ♪ [ male announcer ] see what's happening behind the scenes at aflac.com.

some potentially very serious news coming into the situation room for the country superstar. mary snow is monitoring that and some of the other top stories in "the situation room." what's going on, mary?

>> we're learning that country singer randy travis has been admitted to a texas hospital and is listed in critical condition. the grammy award winnier singer is suffering from complications from complications with his heart. we'll bring you more information as soon as we get it. >> 13 people are dead after a runaway train ran aground in quebec and the train caught on fire. police say they know there will be more deaths because 37 people are missing. the cause of the derailment is unknown. an incredible and disturbing video coming to us out of tennessee. watch as this car slams into a gas station pump and instantly bursts into flames. with only seconds to react, a man in the path of the car stops, drops and rolls around to put out the fire.

that man, chris porter, is in critical but stable condition with burns over 40% of his body. >> awful investigators are now founding parts of the plane in the water.

i don'without goingcisions to angie's list first. with angie's list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic! find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

we're getting new details about that plane, the asiana airlines flight that crashed in san francisco's airport. these are live pictures. you're seeing what's left of that 777 still on the ground there in san francisco. two passengers died. more than 180 were injured. the rear of the boeing 777 struck the sea wall at the end of the runway, snapping off the plane's tail, sending the rest of the body spinning on its belly. parts of the tail have now been found in the sea wall and in the water. cnn's brian todd has been looking into how you can increase your chances of surviving a plane crash. brian, what are you learning? >> we got special access a little while back to a ntsb training center in virginia where they investigate plane

crashes all over the united states. there is one small team there dedicated to figuring out why people live and die in plane crashes. >> oh, my god. >> it looks unsurvivable. yet almost everyone did survive. >> i feel very lucky and blessed that we were able to get those people out in that time. >> the lesson, according to experts, you can make it out of even a horrific crash alive. part of the ntsb's elite go team of investigators sent to san francisco is a group looking at how people survive plane crashes. >> this is all about impact. >> yeah. >> this is bailout blunt force, g force. >> we got exclusive access to their training center in 2009 and spoke to nora marshall, who led the human performance and survival factors division of the ntsb. >> tell me about the myth and how you want to dispel it. >> one of the myths is if you're involved in an airplane accident, you're not going to survive, and we know that's not true. >> one key reason you can make

it out, equipment enhancements. >> we've improved the chance of survival by improving seat strength, by building airplanes that can withstand crash forces. >> take a look at the inside of the asiana plane. even the damaged seats could have protected passengers. another example, little rock, june 1999, landing in a thunderstorm, american airlines flight 1420 slides off the runway, impacts a light structure, splits open. fire breaks out in the after the section. but look at the seats. with the fuselage breached, much of the cabin destroyed, many of the seats remain relatively intact, even some that were ripped out by impact. here's one survivor's account. >> there was a gap in the side of the fuselage, a big old gash. outside of that, i found two people still strapped into their chair that had apparently been thrown through that. they were both alive and doing okay. >> hard landings, such as this 2002 emergency touchdown at jfk, are completely survivable,

marshall says. >> here they come. >> crucial to survival, human behavior. flight crews are better trained than ever to get people out. marshall pointed to the 2009 overrun of an air france jet in toronto and the hudson river landing. number of people killed in those incidents, sezero. she took me through an evacuation drill. >> why are you blocking the aisle to get you carry-on? leave it behind. okay, your closest exit, right here. >> two things -- i went the wrong way. >> how do you open that? okay, did you look at your briefing card? do you know how the exit opens? >> no. >> did you know there was an exit right behind you? >> no. >> in about 20 seconds, i made three very common mistakes that could get me and others killed. but many passengers do get it. in little rock, 134 out of the 145 people onboard survived. including one man who scrambled

out with the seat still on his back. >> he crawled away from the airplane, and it wasn't until he got to this area that he realized he hasn't even unfastened his seat belt. >> now, another important point, i spoke with nora marshall again today. she said when your plane is taking off and when it's landing, those are the two times you should have your belt buckled tightly. you have to have it fastened anyway in the middle of the flight, but she says if you do that and there's an impact on takeoff or landing, having it belted very tightly will not only keep you from being thrown around, but the seat actually absorbs much of the energy of that impact. >> critically important information, brian. thanks very much. coming up in our next hour, right at the top of the hour, i'll speak with the chair of the national transportation and safety board. she's leading the investigation. we'll have the latest on what happened in san francisco. also coming up, we'll have much more on the critical testimony today in the george zimmerman trial. trayvon martin's father takes the stand. ness...

accomplishing even little things can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. since enbrel helped relieve my joint pain, it's the little things that mean the most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists.

mhandle more than 165 billionl thletters and packages a year.ne that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal worker's union.

♪ hooking up the country whelping business run ♪ ♪ build! we're investing big to keep our country in the lead. ♪ load! we keep moving to deliver what you need. and that means growth, lots of cargo going all around the globe. cars and parts, fuel and steel, peas and rice, hey that's nice! ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪ ...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. hang now, testimony by trayvon martin's use of marijuana on that critical day. plus, courtroom drama as his

father takes the stand. also, we're getting new details of the jet crash at san francisco international airport. investigators are now look at pilot experience. the head of the national transportation and safety board is standing by to join us live at this hour. plus, chaos and bloodshed in egypt. a soaring death total as the political crisis deepens. i'm wolf blitzer. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. you're in situation squags. -- "the situation room." a decision that could have a major impact on the second-degree murder trial of george zimmerman. just a little while ago, the judge decided that jurors can hear testimony about toxicology tests. we show that trayvon martin had marijuana in his system when he was killed. let's go to sanford, florida. martin savidge has been covering this trial for us. potentially, martin, a very

significant decision by the judge. >> reporter: yeah, definitely so. i mean, we knew that coming into this trial, there had been a lot of arguments that had been placed on the part of defense and by the prosecution to try to prevent the introduction as far as any drug use involved pertaining to 17-year-old trayvon martin. as you said, the autopsy toxicology reports found that there were traces of ghc in his system. before the trial, the judge said that really was not significant enough for the jury to find out about. now she has essentially reversed that decision and said now the jury can be told potentially. we'll have to see what kind of baggage that may introduce, how the defense may try to portray the victim as a result. then the other issue, and the real drama of the day had to be the fact that you had trayvon martin's father, tracy martin, take the stand, and he was questioned by the attorney who is defending the man that killed his son. you had mark o'mara basically earlier had chewed detectives on the stand and they both said

that they had played that 911 call, the one with the screams, and that the detectives had heard tracy martin tell them when they asked, was that your son screaming, he said no. but when tracy martin was questioned on the stand, he said, in fact, what he said was that he couldn't tell. the prosecution got up quickly and began to cross-examine and sort of support tracy martin. listen. >> in terms of what was going through your mind, can you describe to your jury what was going through your mind when you were listening to that? >> basically what i was listening to, i was listening to my son's last cry for help. i was listening to his life being taken. and i was coming to grips that trayvon was here no more. it was just tough.

>> t . >> reporter: the prosecution implying that if there's any change or misunderstanding as to what tracy martin had said, because he had just listened to the final screams of his son and the gunshot that had ended his life. he was emotionally distraught. but that ruling on ghc is really big. >> one of his 911 calls, george zimmerman even suggested that trayvon martin may have been on drugs, something along those lines. and that may have motivated the behavior of george zimmerman. but go ahead and pick up that thought. >> reporter: yeah. i mean, that is an issue that's going to be brought. state of mind has been something that's been talked about a lot in this case. but usually, the reference is to what was george zimmerman's state of mind. did he have hatred against in some way 17-year-old trayvon martin. that's the second-degree murder part. but now the issue becomes well, what was the teenager's state of mind? could he have somehow been more

aggressive or misunderstood what george zimmerman was doing, misread it as a result of the trace of marijuana. it will be very interesting to see how the defense handles this because it could work both ways for them. >> all right, martin, don't go too far away. sunny hostin is joining us. also mark is on the scene for us as well, a criminal defense attorney. sunny, let's talk for a second about the marijuana. how much of a significant setback for the prosecution is this, judge deborah nelson's decision to allow this toxicology report to be admitted as evidence. >> i think it certainly is a setback, because as you just said, the defense here is one of self-defense and now they're going to be able to get into perhaps trayvon martin somehow misread things. perhaps george zimmerman wasn't following him in this way. perhaps trayvon martin thought he was creepy because he was

paranoid because of his drug use. maybe his perceptions were off. also, george zimmerman said this guy looks like he's on drugs. he told that to the non-emergency call operator. it's unfortunate for the prosecution because the police department didn't take any blood from george zimmerman on that night there. are no toxicology reports on george zimmerman's blood. there have been some reports on the fact that he was taking some kind of medication, but that won't come in front of this jury, so i'm not sure how you combat this kind of testimony. i think you have to get your own toxicology expert to say you know what? there was so little in his bloodstream, it could not have affected his behavior that night. if they can find an expert that's going to say that -- remember, their own medical examiner said that he felt that the amount of drugs in his system may have changed his reactions. so i think this is a tough one for the government. >> what do you think, mark? >> yeah, sunny hit most of the

points right on. the fact is that, you know, people know, though, that marijuana, it really is the issue. it could backfire on the defense. have to be very careful because with the liberalization of marijuana, the acceptance by many in society, it sometimes can backfire if you're trying to make it too big a deal that he was this drug teenager. many people know that marijuana is typically going to make you slower, not more aggressive. there's an issue with the defense that they need to be very careful about, but i think all the more goes towards showing that trayvon martin wasn't what the state is attempting to portray and that there's other sides to this. so this once again kind of nips away, chips away at the state's ability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. as sunny said, you've got the medical examiner. that's what hurts this prosecution so much. for them to even bring in their

own independent witness now, they're stuck with this medical examiner changing his testimony at the very last minute, unknown to everybody. he said i conclude now that it could have affected, it could have impacted. when you couple that with george zimmerman's statement that trayvon martin appeared like he was on drugs, that becomes very difficult for the state. >> listen to this. these are two of the former lead investigators who are looking into all of the evidence, looking into all of the charges at the beginning of what was going on, and their testimony today, very dramatic moments. when they said that when trayvon martin's father initially heard that controversial 911 tape where someone was screaming out for help, trayvon martin's father suggested, at least according to these two investigators, that the voice was not the voice of his son. listen to this. >> what did you ask him? >> i believe my words were is that your son's voice in the background -- i think i said it

a little differently than that. but i inquired if that was, in fact, his son yelling for help. >> and what was his response? >> he -- it was more of a verbal and nonverbal. he looked away and under his breath, as i interpret it, said "no." >> did he ever ask that the tape be played for him again? >> i don't believe so. >> did he ever evidence to you any concern with being able to hear the tape? >> no, sir. >> do you recall what it was you heard officer serino ask mr. martin after playing a loud 911 call? >> did he recognize the voice. >> okay. >> again, do you have the exact words? >> i don't know if those are the exact words, but that was the question, if he recognized the voice. >> okay. and mr. martin's response? >> was that it was not his son. >> tracy martin later testified

that he didn't say that, that he didn't know whose voice it was. give me your analysis and how it's likely to play with those six jurors. >> think of the position the state is in. they're having to pit their victim's father against law enforcement. and basically the victim's father is saying that law enforcement is incorrect or untruthful. that's their best case, that they're incorrect. and so now this once again, with all the multiple -- i think they put on seven witnesses that said that it was in fact george zimmerman's voice and you have his own father being compromised by the defense's questioning. it's a challenging position for the state to be in, to have law enforcement refute their own victim's father's testimony. >> we did hear earlier, it was very dramatic, as you well remember, we heard trayvon martin's mother and brother testify that they thought it was the voice of trayvon martin crying out for help. >> yeah, and i think that may,

in fact, give tracy martin some more credibility. i mean, look at the circumstances around which he first heard that tape. what parent wants to say yes, that's my son's cries for help. and i wasn't there to answer those cries. i don't think that what the detectives have said that he said and what he says are mutually exclusive by any means. he said i can't tell. and i think there has been enough evidence that, you know, people sound differently when they're under stress, which is why i think that perhaps the jury may think all these people with biased friends of george zimmerman can identify his voice as screaming? it cuts both ways. >> all right, guys. we'll continue to watch this trial. don't forget tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m. eastern, the trial resur resu resumes. we'll have live coverage here on cnn. thank vs very much. up next, new details coming

into "the situation room" about the final seconds before the asiana flight 214 crash landed in san francisco, the head of the ntsb is about to join us live. we'll talk about what investigators have now learned. plus, new information also coming in about the dozens of passengers injured and why some may never walk again. ♪ [ male announcer ] fight pepperoni heartburn and pepperoni breath fast with tums freshers. concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ fast heartburn relief and minty fresh breath. [ slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums you'll forget you had heartburn. and didn't know where to start. a contractor before at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you.

no company can pay to be on angie's list, so you can trust what you're reading. angie's list is like having thousands of close neighbors, where i can go ask for personal recommendations. that's the idea. before you have any work done, check angie's list. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. i love you, angie. sorry, honey. does your dog food have? 18 percent? 20? new purina one true instinct has 30. active dogs crave nutrient-dense food. so we made purina one true instinct. learn more at purinaone.com ♪ unh ♪ ♪ hey! ♪ ♪ let's go! ♪ [ male announcer ] you can choose to blend in. ♪ ♪ yeah! yeah! yeah! or you can choose to blend out. ♪ oh, yeah-eah! ♪

the all-new 2014 lexus is. it's your move. we're getting some disturbing new details from investigators as they try to figure out why that asiana jumbo jet crash landed at the san francisco international airport on saturday. the chair of the national transportation and safety board deborah hersman is about to join

us live. we'll speak to her, get the latest from her. but first some background. dan simon is in san francisco right now. he's following the investigation. dan, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, wolf, we know that the plane was going far below the recommended speed as it approached the runway. we also heard from some of the first responders today who really did some incredible things. but what you might call some uncomfortable questions about something that may have happened as they raced to the scene. as investigators continue to examine the wreckage, more evidence surfaced today that asiana flight 214 was flying too low and too slow to make a safe landing. >> about three seconds prior to impact, the flight data recorder recorded its lowest speed of 103 knots. >> reporter: the plane had a target speed for landing of 137 knots, or about 40 miles an hour faster before touchdown. >> look at that one. >> look at his nose up in the

air. oh, my god. it's an accident. >> reporter: investigators still aren't saying whether they believe pilot error led to the crash, but deborah hersman made it clear their decisions are being closely reviewed. >> we're looking for things that might affect human performance like fatigue, like illnesses or medication. >> reporter: the pilot at the controls had only limited experience on a boeing 777, just 43 hours, though many hours flying 747s. but he never landed a triple-7 in san francisco for him. this was considered a training flight for him. the crew called for an increase in speed. at four seconds, the pilots were getting a stall warning. and a second and a half before the crash, the pilots tried to abort the landing. as this animation showed, the plane clipped the sea wall, severing its tail. and then careens down the

runway. the ntsb says other pieces of wreckage are in the water. >> i have a large plane down. it's well evolved in fire and people are exiting the plane and the collection point has been established. at that point, i raised it to a third alarm and declared a red alert. >> first responders today describe the chaotic, surreal scene arriving just a couple minutes after the crash. with jet fuel spewing out of the plane, investigators rushed to get outside and get several passengers trapped, all at the back of the aircraft where the worst damage was. >> in the wings of that plane is jet fuel. jet fuel is leaking out of the plane and our firefighters, under the direction of anthony robinson originally, and battalion chief mark johnson, entered the plane, began a primary search and began to extinguish fire. >> reporter: but with the heroism comes a possible tragedy. the san francisco fire department acknowledging that one of its emergency vehicles

may have run over one of the two chinese girls who died. >> there was a possibility that one of the two fatalities might have been contacted by one of our apparatus at an unknown point during the incident. >> the coroner has not yet determined the cause of death. and so we want to make sure that we have all the facts before we reach any conclusions. we are reviewing video, airport surveillance video to understand also what happened. >> reporter: both of the victims who died were seated in the ear of the plane. meanwhile, investigators were hoping to interview the pilots sometime today. wolf? >> all right, dan simon in san francisco. thank you. let's get more from the chair of the national transportation and safety board, deborah hersman is joining us now live from san francisco. thanks very much for coming in. what can you tell us about those interviews? i understand that they have

started today with those four korean pilots. >> they have. one of our main priorities is really to conduct interviews and gather perishable evidence in the first hours and days after an accident. our team is in the process of interviewing the pilots. we want to make sure that we have the opportunity to talk to each of them. there were four pilots on this flight. a crew and a relief crew. and so we want to talk to all of them. that process has begun and we expect good cooperation. >> are they in good shape, those four pilots? did they sustain any injuries? >> well, our team is talking to them. they've all agreed to be interviewed. i don't know if they had any injuries in the accident, but we do know the worst of the injuries were in the back of the aircraft. >> we also have been hearing -- and it's pretty disturbing, that

the pilot that was in charge, and correct me if i'm wrong, really had a tiny bit of experience with this particular boeing 777. had never actually landed a plane, that specific aircraft, many san francisco, which is a tricky landing coming in over the water. is all that true? >> well, i think first, you know, to step back a little bit. generally when we think of a two-person flight crew, we think of a captain and a first officer. what we believe we have in this case is we have a captain that was going through some transition training and some operating experience in the 777. this is somebody with a lot of hours, a lot of experience, but new to the 777. and so he also flying with a check captain, or a training captain, who is with him as he's going through this. san francisco, clearly they're coming in. we want to make sure when we look at that that we've got all of the facts straight about who

was the flying pilot in this leg of the flight. who was the pilot in command in the cockpit. and so we've got two captains here. we want to understand that. they did come in to san francisco, they were slow. we know they had a crash on the approach. we would expect in a two-pilot operation for there to be some redundancy and some monitoring that's taking place. we have to understand what went wrong on this flight. >> they were flying in very slow and very low. and clearly that was a problem. is it too early to conclude pilot error? >> you know, wolf, i think it really is too early to conclude pilot error because there's so much that we don't know. we have to understand what these pilots knew. we also need to look at how they were flying the airplane. were they hand-flying the airplane? were they relying on auto pilot or some combination of the two of those. and how those systems worked, if they worked as designed.

if the crew understood what they were supposed to do. we've seen some of these challenges in previous investigation with respect to automation, and so we want to make sure that we fully understand it before we reach any conclusions. >> you've listened to the flight voice recorder. was there any indication of panic in those seconds before the crash? >> you know, wolf, the cockpit voice recorders left san francisco just as i was arriving. we had some of our team who was on the grand here in california. they were able to get the recorders off the plane, get them on a red eye back to washington for our team to audition them in washington in less than 24 hours. so that's a great accomplishment. i have not listened to the cockpit voice recorder, so i really can't provide any input as to how the crew sounded. >> did your staff, did others at the ntsb give you a sense of what was going on in that

cockpit? >> they have listened to the recorders, they did a preliminary audition to identify some basic information on them. but they actually have a cockpit voice recorder group that's convening in washington. one of the issues for us for sure is that we've got a combination of english and korean on the cockpit voice recorders and we've got to have some translation done to that before we can release any additional information. >> any preliminary results you want to release right now? >> sure. we have provided some preliminary information from the cockpit voice recorder. and, you know, i think what's really important to note is that seven seconds out, there was a recognition between the two crew members in a conversation that the aircraft was slow. four seconds prior to impact, they actually had a stick shaker activation. this is a big deal. this is telling the pilots that the airplane is about to stall if something doesn't change. so they get an oral and they

also get a cue through the aircraft, a vibration that the airplane is close to stall. and then about 1.5 seconds before impact, there was a call between the crew to go around. and go around is an aborted landing, apply thrust, and go around and make another pass, try to land again. that was just 1.5 seconds before impact, and at that point, it was too late. >> too late, indeed. a tragic moment, way too late at that point. deborah hersman of the national transportation and safety board. if we could check back with you tomorrow, get some more information, that would be great. thanks very much and good luck with the investigation. >> thanks, wolf. just ahead, was it a case of pilot error in san francisco? we're going to show you some exclusive video to illustrate what may have gone wrong. stand by for that. and a number of the crash victims have final injuries. we'll show you why and what they may be up against next. it's usually when i want to wear my favorite dress

that i remember i should probably do laundry more often. yeah. yeah. cause' by the time i do there's all these mystery stains. i mean is it coffee? is it bronzer? did i play rugby at some point? could be gravy. i do like gravy. anyway, so my mom sent us these tide boost thingies to put in the wash with tide. together they're like twice as strong. yeah. so it's like bye bye stains, hello perfection. what? [ female announcer ] together, tide and tide boost double your power against stains that's my tide what's yours?

bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

happening now, a veteran

pilot with very little experience was at the controls at the time of the san francisco crash. very little experience flying the boeing 777 coming into san francisco. we're going to show you what went wrong. dozens of people are missing after a runway train explodes, leveling much of a small town. why the search is still so dangerous. and the country music superstar randy travis in critical condition right now with a heart ailment. we'll have an update. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." cnn has obtained exclusive video of the crash of asiana flight 214. a retired pilot who looked at it says it has important clues about the deadly crash landing at the san francisco international airport. here's cnn's renee marsh. >> you see how low he is over there? >> reporter: too low. >> much too low. the sight picture that you would have out of the cockpit window

should not be looking at the runway like this, but you should be looking -- he should be seeing down here. >> reporter: mark weis, a retired commercial pilot for more than 22 years, looking at asiana 214 crash landing frame by frame. the asiana airline pilot who was behind the controls has been flying with the airline for nearly two decades, but only had 43 hours of experience flying this type of plane. do you think experience or lack thereof played at all in this scenario? >> well, certainly going to look at that. experience, not necessarily. remember, he had already been qualified through the simulators and his testing to fly the airplane. there perhaps was a comfort factor that may have come in to something like this. >> reporter: how does that translate to potentially what we saw? >> it translates to the fact

that i don't want to say something because i don't want to look like i can't handle the situation. it potentially could boil down to something like that. but having 33 hours in an airplane -- pilots change aircraft all the time and you're always going to start from zero to wherever you wind up. >> reporter: the pilot was accompanied by a training pilot known as a check airman. the first sign of trouble on the flight recorders came seven seconds before impact. a call for more engine power. >> he shouldn't have been in the position where he would have needed that to begin with, but had he still been in this position, that power should have been appropriate way back here. >> reporter: watching the video raises questions like if the co-pilot saw the pilot making a wrong move, were they too afraid to say it. >> why did the check airman allow the situation to deteriorate to this point? and why didn't one of the other pilots say something? >> reporter: it's coming in. 1.5 seconds they call for the

go-around. way too late. >> much too late. the fact is they recognize too late the situation that they put themselves into. and now they're trying to recover for it. but ran out of altitude and air speed at the same time. >> reporter: renee marsh, cnn, washington. >> of the 307 people onboard the asiana flight, 182 ended up in the hospital and many of them with spinal injuries. cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is joining us now. what are you seeing? what are you learning? >> we know that tragically two people died in this crash, but many more will go on to live for the rest of their lives in pain and in paralysis. it's a miracle that anyone got out of this wreckage alive. but many of those who did suffered terrible injuries. >> almost, i would say 50% of the people that we admitted to

the hospital have at least one spinal fracture. not all of them are paralyzed, but some of them are. >> spinal cord injuries, not surprising, given that this is what the cabin looked like after the crash. imagine how passengers must have been tossed around. >> i tried to hold on to, you know, whatever i could. as soon as i grabbed anything that i could hold on to, it was like, you know, bang. and the impact was so powerful. >> dr. donald leslie shows us what some of the injuries would look like, such as a compression fracture. >> this body is rectangular. and this is normal. if it is compressed or fractured, then this will be smaller. >> and burst vertebra. >> normal. normal. injured. injured. >> does this piece actually burst? >> that piece actually burst into several segments. >> setting the spine straight with these rods and screws can

help in some cases. >> so you can have these kinds of injuries and walk out of the hospital. >> yes. you can. >> but you may not. >> but you may not. and the majority do not. >> and for those who don't, they'll spend the rest of their lives using crutches, wheelchairs, braces. the effects of this disaster, living with them forever. one of the tragedies of this crash is that the passengers didn't have any time to brace themselves. there was no time to give them warning to prepare. wolf? >> what a story, elizabeth. thanks very much. let's hope for the very best for all of those who are injured. all ten people, by the way, aboard when an air taxi burst into flames in southern alaska. details of yesterday's crash still are not clear. but authorities say the single engine plane struck the runway and burned at an airport about 60 miles southwest of anchorage. the national transportation and safety board has been called in

to investigate. a train disaster worse than anyone realized. we've just learned the death toll is climbing. plus, the nsa leaker edward snowden in his own words explaining why he thinks he had an obligation to reveal the u.s. government's massive surveillance program. cure. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ canit's been that wayyou do... since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet

approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. "that starts with one of the world's most advancedy," distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups,"

"and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart" dozen of people are missing, 13 are dead after this weekend's horrific runway crash in eastern canada. the 73-car train plowed into the small town of lac-megantic. the load of crude oil ignited. paula newton is on the scene for us. what is the latest? >> reporter: unfortunately, the latest is that the death toll

has gone up. they've recovered 13 bodies, still not identified, wolf, and 37 are missing. having said that, the details are so grim, i have rarely heard blunt language like this used by officials. they're talking about the scene behind them being a crematorium for whoever was there. they are pleading with family members who have said people are missing to hand in dna samples, hair, clothing, anything to help identify their loved ones. needless to say, this town is still in a state of shock as to how this could have happened. the fire burning for 36 hours. the core, the heart of the town completely wiped out. and this from a runway train that was parked. apparently had some trouble with his brakes. actually had a small fire just five miles up the road here. the fire was extinguished and about an hour and a half later, it just careened into this town. the latest from the company is that they are now at least putting on the table, and police refuse to rule it out, there that there could have been sabotage, perhaps vandalism or, again, could have been some kind of mistake.

it will be at least weeks before we find out the exact cause. wolf? >> what a horrific story that is. paula newton on the scene for us. we'll check back with you. other news, u.s. intelligence leaker edward snowden has been stuck in a moscow airport now for more than two weeks looking for a country to give him asylum. today "the guardian" newspaper released more of the interview it conducted with snowden in hong kong back on june 6th, before he revealed himself and went on the run. it sure sounds like he knew what was coming up in his life. listen to this. >> i think the government's going to launch an investigation. i think they're going to say i've committed grave crimes, i've violated the espionage act. they're going to say i've aided our enemies in making them aware of these systems. but that argument can be made against anybody who reveals

information that points out mass surveillance systems. because fundamentally, they apply equally to ourselves as they do to our enemies. >> snowden goes on to talk about why he revealed classified information. >> i don't want to live in a world where everything that i say, everything i do, everyone i talk to, every expression of creativity or love or friendship is recorded. and that's not something i'm willing to support. it's not something i'm willing to do. it's not something i'm willing to live under. and so i think anyone who opposes that sort of world has an obligation to act in a way they can. now, i've watched and waited and tried to do my job in the most policy-driven way i could. which is to wait and allow other people -- you know, wait and

allow our leadership, our figures to sort of correct the excesses of government when we go too far, but as i've watched, i've seen it's not occurring. in fact, we're compounding the excesses of prior governments and making it worse and more invasive. and no one is really standing to stop it. >> venezuela has extended an offer of asylum to snowden, but officials there say they have not heard back from him. up next, the country music superstar randy travis is in the hospital in critical condition. we'll give you an update. i asked my husband to pay our bill, and he forgot. you have the it card and it's your first time missing a payment, so there's no late fee. really? yep! so is your husband off the hook? no. he went out for milk last week and came back with a puppy. hold it. hold it. hold it. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with late payment forgiveness.

no decision from judge deborah nelson in the zimmerman trial today on whether or not a controversial animation of what happened that night with the killing of trayvon martin can be admitted as evidence. she will consider it. there will be depositions. more on that coming up. the trial resumes tomorrow morning. 9:00 a.m. eastern. cnn will have live coverage. other news.

the country music superstar and multiple grammy winner randy travis is hospitalized. he is in critical condition. let's get the latest information. what are we learning? >> randy's publicist has told us that he is in critical condition right now in a texas hospital. being treated for viral cardiomyopathy, a heart condition caused bay viral infection. he was admitted to the hospital yesterday. according to his website -- this is a singer who has sold more than 20 million records in a career that has spanned almost 30 years. he's a guy who's won seven grammys, appeared in several movies. but in recent years, he's made more headlines for his personal struggles than for his music. the 54-year-old performer stumbled through a rocky 2012. more than three brushes with the law. in august of last year, he was cited for fighting with the ex-husband of his then girlfriend in the parking lot of a texas church. and just two weeks before that, a texas state trooper found him

naked, drunk and passed out in the middle of a road. he pleaded guilty to dwi charges from that incident and was sentenced to probation and community service. recently, randy travis performed at a memorial service for george jones, and he does have tour dates booked throughout the summer, including a performance scheduled for wednesday in south dakota. of course, that could be in jeopardy now, wolf, with him in the hospital. >> marc, thanks very much. up next, the bloodiest clash yet in cairo. dozens of people are dead. hundreds wounded. why isn't the white house ready to cut off military aid? they explain what's going on. stand by. ♪ there's a new way to fight litter box odor. introducing tidy cats with glade tough odor solutions. two trusted names, one amazing product.

♪ [ male announcer ] some things are designed to draw crowds. ♪ ♪ others are designed to leave them behind. ♪ the all-new 2014 lexus is. it's your move.

the all-new 2014 lexus is. i'to guard their manhood with trnew depend shields and guards. the discreet protection that's just for guys. now, it's your turn. get my training tips at guardyourmanhood.com

an extraordinarily bloody day in cairo, where more than 50 people were killed. hundreds of people were wounded in clashes between egyptian security forces and backers of mohamed morsi. here in washington, the white house seemed to reject cutting off military aid to egypt over what it's still refusing to call a military coup.

here is the white house press secretary jay carney. >> our decisions with regards to the events that happened recently in egypt will be -- and how we label them and analyze them, will be made with our policy objectives in mind, in accordance with the law and in accordance with any consultations with congress. >> no immediate cutoff. >> we think that not be in our best interest. >> let's bring in ben wiedeman. he's in cairo. tell our viewers what the latest is. is it still very, very tense there, a lot of violence, or is it easing somewhat? >> reporter: it's very tense, there's no question about that, wolf. there hasn't been much -- any violence that we know of this afternoon. really all that violence took place outside the headquarters of the republican guard, where, as you said, the supporters of mohamed morsi clashed with police and the army. there's a blame game going on as

to who started it and how. but the net result is the same. this is a city on edge. there are worries that there's going to be more violence tomorrow when the supporters of the deposed to protest against deaths that thap pennhappened e morning in cairo. >> what is the head of the atom irk agency, the nobel peace prize winner, is he going to be the prime minister or is he not going to be the prime minister? he is a liberal secularist and the promo ham ed mor-- pro moha people hate him >> we thought we were minutes away from being the prime minister. the ultraconservative islamist party objected to his

apointment. so that announcement was suddenly canceled. there have been a variety of names that have been bant y aroe extent that it exists is very difficult to form. it seems that the real game deal breakers here are the nour party which some observers here are suggesting that they're going to try to derail anything unless an islamist prime minister, interim prime minister is appointed and that will cause all sorts of new problems. political paralysis and tension in the street not a very good combination. wolf. >> the head loon from washington. the white house refusing to call it a military coup. insisting u.s. military aid to egypt will continue at a rate of $1.5 billion a year at least for now. we'll check to see how that is

playing with you. watching this dramatic, critically important situation unfold. let's take a quick look at some of the other top stories in the "situation room." awe the wi the wife of the secretary of state john kerry upgrated from critical to fair condition. a day after being hospitalized, symptoms consistent with somekind of seizure. teresa heinz kerry became ill in nantucket underwent tests. and her husband and family members have been at the hospital since she became will, we were her a speedy recovery. >> the defense began its case in the court-martial of bradley manning, the private who admitted giving vast amounts of classified material to wikileaks, pled guilty to a nm were of counts. the lawyers asked the judge to dismiss several charges including aiding the enemy which could carry a life in prison term. >> the former new york

democrating governor, eliot spitzer trying for a come back after a prostitution scandal halt his political career. he launched a petition campaign in a bid to become new york city's comptroller. challenged for the most by libertarian kristin davis who says sheep was the madam who supplied him with exports. if spitzer makes the primary he will be on the ballot with former democratic congressman, anthony weiner who tried to make a comeback from a sex scandal running for the mayor of new york. rick perry says he won't seek re-election for a fourth term as texas governor. the longest serving governor in texas history, perry took office back in 2000 when george w. bush left to become president. perry's announcement opens the door to speculation he will make a bid for the white house in 2016. after a failed run for the republican nomination last year. >> up next, a restaurant employee leaks pretty close

video, is he the edward snowden of burners and baby back ribs. own jeanie moos has this special report. you really couldn't have come at a better time. these chevys are moving fast. i'll take that malibu. yeah excuse me, the equinox in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first, it's mine. i called about that one, it's mine. mine. it's mine. it's mine. mine! mine. mine. mine. mine. it's mine! no it's not, it's mine! better get going, it's chevy's independence day celebration. [ male announcer ] the chevy independence day celebration.

now, current chevy truck owners can trade up to this 2013 chevy silverado all-star edition with a total value of $9,000. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ every day we're working too... and to keep our commitments. and we've made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the u.s. than any other place in the world. in fact, we've invested over $55 billion here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor.

our commitment has never been stronger. the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us.

>> if you don't like eating food near a dumpster you are into the alone. an employ yef of golden corral says it is disgusting and blowing a lid off one of the florida locations with a video that has now gone viral. here is cnns jeanie moos. >> reporter: you know your restaurant has a pr problem when one of your employees heads for the dumpster to shoot video ofburgers and baby back ribs stashed there. >> to me this is disgusting. this is what my company like to do to get ready for inspection. put they're food by the stumpster. >> sort of conflicts with the slogan. >> reporter: happiness might be scarce at the port orange golden corral where brandon huber did his own video expose. >> hamburger meat. look at all the flies. disgusting. >> brandon's dad speaking for his son, said managers prepared food too far in advance when an internal company inspection

happened. so the prepped food was hidden by the dumpster. the hubers say they tried to go through channels but no one listened. so brandon's dad offered to sell the info on e-bay for $5,000. were they trying to shack doke the restaurant chain? >> where is the correspondence where i tried to sell it to them. look at the video would you have liked to have eaten there today and find out about this tomorrow. >> bacon. grave yefs. the plot thickens. not to mention the gravy. the all you can eat buff fete chain told cnn none of the items were served to a single customer all were destroyed within the hour at the direction of management. and brandon huber participated in the disposal of the food. >> my son wouldn't hatch said nothing this stuff would have been moved back into the restaurant, and they would have had him cook it the next day. >> reporter: at least one head rolled.

gold in corral says the manager of the restaurant in question has been fired for improper food handling. as for 21-year-old brandon. >> i would not eat this stuff. >> reporter: comparisons are being made on line. you are the edward snowden of all you can eat buffets. brando's father says brandon has been offered paid leave while the restaurant chain is doing its own investigation. the convoluted, twisted tale told by brandon's dad left us confused, but the pictures cut to the bone. jeanie moos. >> nonstop fall off the bone baby backs. >> cnn. >> all you can eat ribs by the dumpster. >> new york. >> a whole new world out there. every, every business in the country got to be very, very careful with youtube out there. the kind of videos they will go viral very, very quickly. thank you for that report. you can always follow us, what is going on behind the scenes in theua